Pruning young trees is often overlooked in favor of addressing larger problems on more mature trees. Though pruning mature trees to remove deadwood and manage risk is important, often these goals could have been accomplished by pruning during infancy.

• Trees that are properly pruned while young will need less corrective pruning as they age.

• Trees are more vigorous, allowing them to “heal” wounds more efficiently.

• Early pruning can develop a strong central trunk with firmly attached, well-spaced branches and can reduce the chance of a tree developing two leading stems of similar diameter, called codominant stems.

• Pruning young trees is an effective way to cultivate desirable form and strong structure as they develop. This is often less costly, and safer than correcting those issues on large, mature trees.